3.99 GPA, 28M Cali Resident: School List

[obgyny]

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Here are my stats in a nutshell:

cGPA: 3.992
sGPA: 3.996
Graduated in 2009 from UC with Neurobiology Major (summa cum laude)
MCAT: 28M (9PS-9VS-10BS)
Cali Resident
Caucasian, Female

-3+ years of work (tutor, retail, research)
-2.5 years research (1 undergrad publication, 1 manuscript in progress, 1 poster, several talks)
-185 hours of clinical volunteer (hospital + free clinic, involve following docs around)
-3 years leadership (board member of 2 clubs... includes lots of medically-related community service)
-Scholarships, Phi Beta Kappa

Here are my list of schools. There's 33 of them (I think)!!! My MCAT score has made me pretty nervous. Is 33 too much? I'm not sure how I'm going to afford it, but I'm going to try. Please critique my list, and feel free to make suggestions. I know some of those UCs are a long shot, but I figure those will be my reach schools. How does my list look?

University of California--Davis
University of California--Irvine
University of California--Los Angeles
University of California--San Diego
University of California--San Francisco
University of Southern California
George Washington University
Georgetown
Loyola University Chicago
Rosalind Franklin University
U of Illinois
Boston University
Tufts University
Michigan State
St. Louis U
Albany Medical College
New York Medical College
SUNY--Upstate
U at Buffalo
U of Rochester
Wake Forest University
U of Cincinnati
University of Toledo
Oregon Health & Science University
Drexel University
Jefferson Medical College
Pennsylvania State University
Temple University
The Commonwealth Medical College
University of Vermont
Virginia Commonwealth University
West Virginia University
Medical College of Wisconsin

 

[canjosh]

I think your list is alright. I don't believe 33 is too many in your case. Consider Loma Linda EVMS, Tulane, Creighton. Rochester is a long shot.

 

[obgyny]

I think your list is alright. I don't believe 33 is too many in your case. Consider Loma Linda EVMS, Tulane, Creighton. Rochester is a long shot.

I didn't include Creighton because they explicitly state they don't accept community college credits for the prereqs (I was a CC transfer student) 🙁. But thanks for the other suggestions, I'll look into them!

Anyone else have any suggestions (to add/remove)?? Anyone in a similar position as me?

Picking schools has been rather difficult with a high GPA, not-so-great MCAT, and being a CA resident. I'm paying for the application process myself, so I'm having a hard time deciding how many schools to apply to. I want to be on the safe side because of my MCAT, but at the same time, I'm not sure how I'm going to afford applying to 33 schools! Especially when secondaries come around. Does anyone have any advice?

 

[jadealer]

I didn't include Creighton because they explicitly state they don't accept community college credits for the prereqs (I was a CC transfer student) 🙁. But thanks for the other suggestions, I'll look into them!

Anyone else have any suggestions (to add/remove)?? Anyone in a similar position as me?

Picking schools has been rather difficult with a high GPA, not-so-great MCAT, and being a CA resident. I'm paying for the application process myself, so I'm having a hard time deciding how many schools to apply to. I want to be on the safe side because of my MCAT, but at the same time, I'm not sure how I'm going to afford applying to 33 schools! Especially when secondaries come around. Does anyone have any advice?

I am in the same boat as you... my suggestion if you have good credit is Citi bank has a 0% APR on purchases credit card for 18 months. That's how I am financing my application process this year.. I have similiar stats and am applying to a similiar number of schools so I feel your pain... still super expensive but it allows your back account to hemorrhage slowly and not all at once... hope that helps.

 

[obgyny]

I am in the same boat as you... my suggestion if you have good credit is Citi bank has a 0% APR on purchases credit card for 18 months. That's how I am financing my application process this year.. I have similiar stats and am applying to a similiar number of schools so I feel your pain... still super expensive but it allows your back account to hemorrhage slowly and not all at once... hope that helps.

It's funny, I'm actually looking into that exact credit card. I figure the only way I'm going to pay for this is with credit cards, then slowly pay them off over time. It's difficult because I'm completely on my own paying for this, and I don't qualify for FAP because of one of my parent's income. It's still so much money, I wasn't planning on applying to this many schools, but that was before I got my MCAT score back 🙁.

Does anyone else have any more advice on my school list? Am I applying to enough safety/within reach schools? Since my MCAT score isn't ideal, I'm trying to apply as smart as possible.

 

[jadealer]

Double post

 

[jadealer]

It's funny, I'm actually looking into that exact credit card. I figure the only way I'm going to pay for this is with credit cards, then slowly pay them off over time. It's difficult because I'm completely on my own paying for this, and I don't qualify for FAP because of one of my parent's income. It's still so much money, I wasn't planning on applying to this many schools, but that was before I got my MCAT score back 🙁.

Does anyone else have any more advice on my school list? Am I applying to enough safety/within reach schools? Since my MCAT score isn't ideal, I'm trying to apply as smart as possible.

I applied to alot of similiar schools last year with basically the same situation (3.8 cgpa, 29 MCAT) and got interviews at Wake Forest, Drexel, and Commonwealth. Sadly, I was waitlisted at all three.. which probably had alot to do with the fact my application was in super late (primary end of october, secondaries Nov/Dec.) So there is hope! plus you GPA is higher than mine and you're applying alot earlier. I know my late application was probably my kiss of death.)

 

[obgyny]

I applied to alot of similiar schools last year with basically the same situation (3.8 cgpa, 29 MCAT) and got interviews at Wake Forest, Drexel, and Commonwealth. Sadly, I was waitlisted at all three.. which probably had alot to do with the fact my application was in super late (primary end of october, secondaries Nov/Dec.) So there is hope! plus you GPA is higher than mine and you're applying alot earlier. I know my late application was probably my kiss of death.)

Thanks! 🙂 Well I'm still working on my personal statement, but I'm planning on submitting my primary before the end of June (hopefully... or early July at the latest). Then filling out secondaries as fast as I possibly can. Good luck with your application! Are you able to get it out early this cycle?

 

[Slowpoke]

Hey Beck!!!!

I found you 🙂, i'm crossing my fingers for you!

 

[jadealer]

Thanks! 🙂 Well I'm still working on my personal statement, but I'm planning on submitting my primary before the end of June (hopefully... or early July at the latest). Then filling out secondaries as fast as I possibly can. Good luck with your application! Are you able to get it out early this cycle?

Yes. Primary out 6/5 Verified 6/15 and my LOR are being sent in by the end of this month. Plus I am working on improving my appllication (added clinical volunteering, homeless shelter volunteering, and other stuff. I am also planning on retaking the mcat if I am improving my scores but I did not put it on my application.. I figure I will send the new score, if I take it, as an update.